A system protects personally identifiable information (PII) by implementing an unconventional key management scheme. In this scheme, the system uses a set of keys rather than an individual key for encrypting PII. Different portions of the PII are encrypted using different keys from the set of keys. In this manner, even if a malicious user were to access a key, that key would not give the malicious user the ability to decrypt all of the PII. Additionally, the system generates a new set of keys periodically (e.g., once a month). The system also deletes sets of keys that are too old (e.g., six months old). As a result, even if a malicious user were to access a key, the usefulness of that key would be time limited.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
6. The token handler of claim 5, wherein the processor is further configured to communicate the set of public encryption keys to the device.
7. The token handler of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to determine, based on an ordinal assigned to a key of the set of public encryption keys and on a number of keys in the set of public encryption keys, that an age of the key exceeds a predetermined time threshold.
8. The token handler of claim 1, wherein the data originator randomly selected the first and second public encryption keys from the set.
14. The method of claim 13, further comprising communicating, by the token handler, the set of public encryption keys to the device.
15. The method of claim 9, further comprising determining, by the token handler, based on an ordinal assigned to a key of the set of public encryption keys and on a number of keys in the set of public encryption keys, that an age of the key exceeds a predetermined time threshold.
16. The method of claim 9, wherein the data originator randomly selected the first and second public encryption keys from the set.
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April 12, 2023
April 9, 2024
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